ABSTRACT
A major hallmark of institutionalization and organizational development of the Guard is the growth in its complexity since its inception. According to Huntington, a key indicator of organizational complexity is the proliferation and increasing differentiation of its organizational subunits and its assumption of additional functions. The Guard is unique in that the increasing complexity of its organizational structure did not instill military professionalism. The Guard's nationwide internal security organization developed in parallel with its national command structure. As at the national level, the local Guard organizations grew directly out of the primordial Guard cells in each locale that secured power during the revolution. The Guard's nationwide structure and pervasiveness as an ideological force in society also facilitated its efforts to mobilize popular support and recruits for the war. In military organizational terms, in the course of the war the Guard developed a generally conventional-looking order of battle.
